Stamp Collecting

Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park, circa 1950. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.

The National Postal Museum’s newest exhibition “Trailblazing: 100 Years of Our National Parks” is filled with amazing artifacts telling the story of our National Parks and its relations to the history of the United States Postal Service and philately. One of the objects chosen for the exhibition is the stamp album once belonging to famous photographer, Ansel Adams. Because of Adams’ portrayal of the natural world and National Parks in his photographs, having his stamp collection in the “Trailblazing” exhibition was a great fit. The curators wanted to display the album open to show the colorful and expressive array of stamps Adams had collected; but, before that could be done, the album needed conservation treatment.

The National Postal Museum (NPM) worked with the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, utilizing their expertise to ensure the album received proper treatment. Conservator Katie Wagner performed the work on Ansel Adams’ stamp album. The treatments included consolidating and relining the spine of the album so it could be safely displayed open in the exhibition. NPM preservation staff visited Katie at the library lab while she was removing the original paper and adhesive from the spine in order to document the process. She uses methyl cellulose to break down the adhesive to make it easier to remove, while being careful to only remove a small portion at a time so the folios underneath are not damaged. Part of the conservation treatment is to add a new spine-lining fabric before putting the original album cover back on.

Original album cover with Ansel Adams' signature set aside to be reattached after the spine is consolidated and relined.

You can view a video of the whole process here:

Once treatment was complete, NPM Preservation staff returned to SI Libraries’ conservation lab to collect the album. We are extremely happy with the results and appreciative of all the hard work put into the project by the SI Library conservators –especially Katie Wagner! Visitors can enjoy the album by visiting the “Trailblazing” exhibition at the National Postal Museum!

The National Postal Museum recently hosted a Family Day with SpongeBob SquarePants. The event originated from a collaboration with Nickelodeon and the United States Postal Service, and sought to encourage letter writing and philately in children, educate participants about marine life, and provide engaging entertainment for the whole family. As soon as the museum opened at 10:00 a.m., it was packed with visitors of all ages!

Photo by Motoko Hioki

Several interactive stations were set up throughout the museum. One of the most popular was “Greetings from Bikini Bottom,” a post card writing activity. Visitors were able to write and send a postcard through the museum’s newly acquired, special edition SpongeBob SquarePants mailbox. Instructions were provided for kids to familiarize themselves with all the necessary steps to send a piece of mail. Friends and loved ones can look forward to receiving a handwritten message in the next few days!

Photo by Jim O'Donnell

Photo by Jim O'Donnell

Photo by Motoko Hioki

Participants had the opportunity to take home a topical stamp collection featuring ocean-themed stamps. We were happy to see budding young philatelists at work!

Photo by Jim O'Donnell

Photo by Motoko Hioki

SpongeBob SquarePants himself was there – in an extra special mail carrier costume – to meet and take pictures with his friends!

Photo by Jim O'Donnell

Photo by Jim O'Donnell

Photo by Jim O'Donnell

Of course, we had to work in a little bit of old fashioned fun in the form of nautical-themed games! Kids could play dolphin ring toss or fish for jellyfish in hopes of winning a prize!

Photo by Motoko Hioki

Photo by Jim O'Donnell

The modern wonder that is kinetic sand was a big hit at our sand castle station! The sand mimics the consistency of wet sand and is easily malleable.

Photo by Jim O'Donnell

Visitors were wowed by renowned comic bubble entertainer Casey Carle who performed several shows throughout the day!

Photo by Jim O'Donnell

Inspired by the wackiness of Bikini Bottom, the sky was the limit for kids as they designed their own deep sea creatures. Our community mural filled up quickly with colorful and imaginative fish, crabs and jellyfish!

Photo by Jim O'Donnell

Photo by Motoko Hioki

We turned one of our galleries into a theater full of comfy beanbags for screenings of classic SpongeBob SquarePants episodes. We even debuted a brand new episode from the show’s upcoming Season 11!

Photo by Jim O'Donnell

This photo booth printed pictures on the spot, so visitors could take home a memory of their day at the museum with SpongeBob SquarePants! Thanks to everyone who attended and we hope to see you again soon!

The world’s most famous and valuable stamp, the British Guiana One-Cent Magenta, is now on display at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum. Prominently showcased in the museum’s William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, the stamp will be on display until November 2017, the longest and most publicly accessible showing ever.

1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta (Obverse)

No postage stamp is rarer than the sole-surviving example of the British Guiana One-Cent Magenta. In January 1856, British Guiana issued a small number of one- and four-cent stamps for provisional use while the postmaster waited on a shipment of postage from England. Multiple copies of the four-cent stamp have survived, but the one-cent stamp now on display at the museum is the only one of its kind in the world. It generates headlines and breaks records every time it sells. It is the only major rarity absent from the Royal Philatelic Collection owned by Queen Elizabeth II.

1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta (Reverse)

“The British Guiana is the rarest of the rare,” said Allen Kane, director of the museum. “Having recently sold for almost $10 million, by sheer size and weight, it may very well be the most valuable single object in the world today.”

Every time it has sold, it has generated headlines and broken records. Perhaps people are drawn to its history of wealthy, secretive and sometimes troubled owners. Its origins in the far-flung holdings of the British Empire may lend it an irresistible air of romance. The stamp’s mystique may stem from its own elusiveness: It has spent most of its 160-plus years behind bank vault bars, appearing only on rare occasions. This display is the One-Cent Magenta’s longest and most publicly accessible exhibition ever.Printed in black ink on magenta paper, it bears the image of a three-masted ship and the colony’s motto in Latin: “we give and expect in return.” Noted for its legacy, the stamp was rediscovered by a 12-year-old Scottish boy living in South America in 1873, and from there passed through some of the most important stamp collections ever assembled.

Stuart Weitzman, renowned shoe designer and philanthropist, purchased the stamp and agreed to loan the stamp to the museum. After considering several of the world’s most prominent philatelic museums, he selected the National Postal Museum as the venue for allowing its presentation and display to the world.

“There was an unfilled square in my childhood stamp album, which I was sure would never be filled,” said Weitzman. “One should never say ‘never,’ and now after so many years in hiding, I felt it most appropriate to give stamp lovers and others the best opportunity to see this gem; and there is no better place than the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum.”

Above: 1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta photograph using an infrared filter.This photograph of the 1856 One-Cent Magenta was taken using an infrared filter. This suppresses the stamp’s red surface, making the black printing more visible. Significant markings:

Damus Petimus Que Vicissim: British Guiana’s motto, derived from the Roman poet Horace. It means, “We give and we ask in return.”

Initials E.D.W.: Because the stamp could be replicated by anyone with access to printer’s type and a press, postal clerk Edmond D. Wight’s handwritten initials deterred counterfeiters.

Vignette: Shows a barque, a three-masted sailing ship common in the nineteenth century. Not meant to represent any particular ship, this illustration would have been available in many print shops.

Surface-colored paper: Created by adding a thin layer of color on top of a sheet of white paper. This method of coloring paper was cheap, but also prone to smudging.

Postmark: Dated April 4, 1856, it reads Demerara, but that is a county name. The stamp was printed, sold, and used at Georgetown, the colonial capital.

Corners: No one knows why the one-cent stamp’s rectangular corners were clipped. The four-cent exists in both clipped and intact examples.

Inscriptions: The stamp’s text reads British|Guiana.|Postage|One Cent. The Guianese dollar, consisting of one hundred cents, became the currency in 1839. One-cent stamps were for mailing newspapers; four-cent stamps were for letters. This may explain the one-cent stamp’s rarity; letters were more likely to be saved than newspapers.

Timeline of a rarity:

1838: The British colony of Demerara in South America is joined with neighboring possessions to form British Guiana.

1856: The postmaster at British Guiana’s capital, Georgetown, runs low on postage stamps and asks a local printer to prepare one-cent and four-cent stamps for provisional use until a shipment arrives from England. The One-Cent Magenta is used April 4.

1873: Twelve-year-old stamp collector Louis Vernon Vaughn discovers the One-Cent Magenta among some old papers at his uncle’s home in British Guiana. Unhappy with its appearance, he sells it for six shillings and buys a packet of prettier foreign stamps.

1878: The wealthy collector Count Philipp von Ferrary purchases the stamp for a sum thought to be 40 pounds sterling. It will not emerge from his vast Paris estate for nearly 40 years.

1917: Ferrary dies at the age of 67. His massive stamp collection is willed to the postal museum in Berlin. However, because France and Germany are at war, his stamp collections are seized a few years later by the French government as enemy property and sold to pay off German war reparations.

1922: American industrialist Arthur Hind pays $32,500 for the One-Cent Magenta, making it the most valuable stamp in the world.

1933: Hind dies, leaving a “dwelling, furniture, paintings but not my stamp collection” to his widow. Ann Hind sues her husband’s estate for the One-Cent Magenta, claiming he gave it to her before his death. The case is settled in her favor.

1940: Ann Hind exhibits the stamp in the British Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair, and shortly thereafter sells it to an anonymous buyer for $45,000.

1954: LIFE pictures the One-Cent Magenta in color for the first time. Its ownership remains shrouded in mystery, and the magazine claims that even the owner’s wife does not know he possesses the stamp.

1966: British Guiana achieves independence and becomes the Republic of Guyana.

1970: Frederick T. Small, an Australian living in Florida, is identified as the stamp’s owner when he sells it for $280,000 to a group of investors headed by Pennsylvania stamp dealer Irwin Weinberg, who spends the next decade promoting it with theatrical flair.

1980: An anonymous buyer, later revealed to be John E. du Pont, purchases the stamp for $935,000. Amateur wrestling replaces philately as du Pont’s main interest, and the stamp again disappears from public view for decades.

The National Postal Museum was recently visited by David Redden, a vice president of Sotheby’s, and some precious cargo, the One-Cent Magenta from British Guiana. (Sotheby's will auction the stamp in Manhattan in June.) Mr. Redden was joined by Robert Odenweller, of the museum's Council of Philatelists, a security officer, James Barron, a reporter from the New York Times and a photographer from the paper.

The occasion for the visit was to use the museum's forensic equipment to record information about one of the world's rarest stamps. Tom Lera, the museum's Winton Blount Research Chair, utilized several pieces of equipment that are part of the museum's philatelic research lab -- the VSC6000, Leica Microscope, X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF) and the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscope (FT-IR).

Front of the 1-cent magenta British Guiana as seen by the VSC 6000

Tom examined the stamp and recorded detailed information on the markings, elements making up the pigments used for the magenta color and additional background data which could be used in future studies. Specifically, he used the Video Spectral Comparator 6000, which is a high resolution analyzer, allowing for the removal of color to better see the stamp and its markings under high magnification. The XRF to look at the elements used in making the magenta color and in making the paper and the FT-IR to determine the organic compounds present.

Back of stamp showing the marking and signatures of previous owners. Back of stamp showing markings: two stamps of Ferrari's trefoil mark; a large faint "H" of Arthur Hind; a small "FK" of Finnbar Kenny, the stamp manager at Macy's who brokered its sale by Hind's widow; a small shooting star added by Frederic Small; a penciled "IW" by Irwin Weinberg ($280,000 in 1970); a large penciled "J E d P", initials of DuPont. ($935,000 in 1980)

Tom Lera using the VSC6000 to examine the back of the stamp. Photo credit: Drew Angerer, New York Times

Detailed information about the the stamp was recorded related to the markings, elements making up the pigments used for the magenta color and additional background data which could be used in future studies.

View of the stamp using an infrared filter showing the April 4, 1856 circle date cancel.

Image of the paper using the Leica Microscope at 400X sowing the paper fibers and ink absorbed into fibers.

CLICK HERE to link to James Barron's May 1, 2014 New York Times article.

Fifty years ago the Beatles invaded America with a musical sound and style that permanently influenced American music. Yet their transformative sound was influenced by a variety of distinctly American musical styles, such as Rhythm and Blues, Rock and Roll, and Country and Western. As a consequence of their of influence and popularity, the USPS issued a Beatles stamp as part of the 1960s Celebrate the Century (CTC) commemorative pane issued on September 17, 1999 in Green Bay, Wisconsin (and ,incidentally, the stamp design had been unveiled at a special unveiling ceremony in Liverpool, England on August 31,1999). The stamp topics selected for the CTC series were voted on by the general public, and the Beatles stamp was ranked sixth in the 1960s CTC series. (Public voting on CTC stamp topics began with the 1950 series.) The stamp was inspired by a song of the same name first released on the Beatles’ 1966 Revolver album. Carl Herrman, the stamp’s art director, hired Robin Shepard, an animator for the 1968 cartoon film the Yellow Submarine, to design the stamp’s artwork.

Robin Shepard’s stamp design was based on designs created by Heinz Edelman, a noted Czech artist and graphic arts designer, who worked with Shepard on The Yellow Submarine movie. Carl Herrman gave the blue background a dark to light gradation (above).

In 2003 the Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) expressed an interest in exploring stamps that could be released as a joint issue with England. These stamps would focus on topics that reflected the shared historical and cultural experiences between both nations. However, the joint issue was never approved and the design development never went beyond the preliminary proof phase. As part of this exploratory design effort, Carl Herrman designed several proofs focusing on eleven songs in the Beatles discography that were distinctly American (Honky Tonk Blues, Wabash Cannonball, Carolina Moon, Kansas City and Memphis, Tennessee); influenced by American music styles (Rocky Raccoon, a country and western- inspired ballad and Yer Blues, a blues oriented song ); or based on their experiences while playing or living in America (Blue Jay Way, Get Back, Honey Pie and Bungalow Bill).

Proof 2

Proof 3

Proofs 2 and 3 (above) were based on artwork previously released or by artists inspired by the Beatles’ music. Four of the Beatles’ songs (Honey Pie, Bungalow Bill, Rocky Raccoon and Yer Blues) selected for stamp designs that appeared on the Beatles’ White Album released in 1968. With the exception of the song Get Back (which had a drug oriented theme, and was recorded with Billy Preston, an American, on electric keyboards), most of the stamp designs were for songs not regarded as commercial successes.

Figure 4

Given the 2003 policy of the CSAC and the USPS regarding the appearance of living people and non-Americans on US stamps, it is certain that this pane would have experienced further revisions. The Beetles portrait shown in Figure 4 was based on a photograph taken by the noted photographer Micheal Cooper, who provided the photographs used on the seminal cover designed for the Sgt Pepper album.

Figure 5

Figure 5 (above) is a proof for the Yer Blues stamp not included as part of the 10 stamp pane proofs. The design is based on artwork created by Alan Aldridge, an English graphic art designer, who authored the lavishly illustrated book “The Beatles: Illustrated Lyrics."

Figure 6

Note the “Beetles” spelling on these proofs. The proof for Figure 6 (above) was based on a Peter Max- inspired design used by Herrman when he prepared preliminary designs for the Yellow Submarine Stamp. Figure 7 (below) was based on artwork prepared by Seymour Chwast, an American graphic designer, and inspired by a song whose controversial lyrics were loosely based on true events that happened in India.

Figure 7

Recently, CSAC and The Postmaster General have revised criteria used to determine subjects to be honored on US postage. These changes have allowed the USPS to honor subjects—such as the Harry Potter movie series—that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. The USPS is considering a stamp commemorating the life of John Lennon. A stamp for John Lennon would be quite appropriate given that his comtempories such as Jimmie Hendrix has been honored with a stamp and Janis Joplin is scheduled to be commemorated on a stamp later this year. The approval of John Lennon for a commemorative stamp would signify the Postal Service continuing acknowledgement of the enduring influence the Beatles had on American Popular Music.

On Friday, August 23, 2013 at 10:30 A.M. the US Postal Service conducted a first day ceremony at the spacious Newseum for release of the 1963 March on Washington limited edition forever stamp. The Newseum was a fitting location for the event because the success and tragedies of the Civil Rights era were documented by the news media during the 1960’s. The stamp represents the final issue in a trilogy of stamps released in 2013 to commemorate civil rights events or leaders. The first Forever stamp marked the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, while the second stamp honored Rosa Parks on the 100th anniversary of her birth in February. An inspiring word appears in large type in the selvage of each stamp pane, including, “Freedom” on the Emancipation stamp sheet, “Courage” on the Parks’ stamp sheet, and “Equality” on the March on Washington stamp sheet. “Together, the 3 stamps tell a story of a journey for justice that continues to this very day.” said Ron Stroman, USPS Deputy Postmaster General.

The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the 1963 March on Washington stamp at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., on Friday, August 23, 2013. The limited-edition stamp honors the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and is available for sale at post offices nationwide. Pictured, from left to right: Thurgood Marshall, Jr., John Lewis, Alexander Williams, Gabrielle Union, Ronald A. Stroman, Wade Henderson, Joe Coleman and Scott Lewis. (U.S. Postal Service, Riccardo Savi)

Under the art direction of Antonio Alcala, stamp artist Gregory Manches depicts marchers against the background of the Washington Monument. Placards calling for equal rights and jobs for all--two principles—are prominently displayed. Using broad strokes and painting with oils on gessoed illustration board, Manches conveys an impressionistic effect of the historic occasion. Initial printing for the stamp is 59 million.

Scott Williams, expressed his pleasure that the Newsuem was honored to host the event and invited attendees to visit the Newseum’s “Civil Rights at 50” exhibit, a three year changing exhibit that chronicles milestones in the civil rights movement from 1963, 1964 and 1965.

During the past month, the USPS encouraged people to add their profile photo from their twitter or Facebook account to the virtual March on Washington Stamp Mosaic. As individual photos became pixels in the mosaic, the stamp design was gradually released. During the ceremony Gabrielle Union added her photo to the mosaic, resulting in the stamp simultaneously revealed digitally on Facebook and at the First Day of Issue ceremony.

First day program for the March on Washington stamp with five signatures.

Pin distributed by the USPS during the ceremony

Although Union was not born at the time of the March, she said she felt compelled to join the ceremony because her parents had raised her to never be silent in the face of injustice. In 1963, Union explained, her father was in Italy serving in the military and her grandmother prohibited her mother from taking part in protests, fearing she would lose her job. “Both of my parents were silenced at a time when they wanted to be demonstrative in their feelings and in their opinions; my father by the military brass and my mother by a scarier entity---my grandmother.”

During his dedication speech Stroman said “It’s an honor to be here in remembrance of the 1963 March on Washington and dedicate a stamp that commemorates what Dr. King describes as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation: the March on Washington, which set the stage for civil rights legislation that changed the arc of history forever.” Indeed, the March on Washington is a reminder of those who marched and put their lives on the line for the cause of social justice. “That’s one of the enduring principles reflected on the stamp we dedicate today.”

Commemorative panel prepared for the March on Washington stamp. Panel includes a picture showing the huge crowd that attended the March

John Lewis, who at 73 represents the last living speaker from the original March, gave a very passionate speech about the events that surrounded the March and speaking of the ceremony he said “This is an extraordinary day that validates the transformative power of the Civil Rights Movement. The March on Washington was the crown jewel of the Civil Rights movement. It also spoke to the individuals who gave their lives to the cause of freedom”. While pointing to the stamp, Lewis remarks “This stamp, this beautiful stamp is my hope. It inspires us all to renew our effort to do what we can to create a more perfect union. If someone had told me fifty years ago that we would someday issue a stamp honoring the March, I would not have believed them. This stamp will remind us of the distance we’ve come, the distance we’ve travelled, and the distance we must still go before we lay down the burden of race, class and color and create one America, where no one is left out, or left behind.”

Artcraft cover used to obtain signatures of participants from the ceremony. This cover was autraphed by Wade Henderson and Ron Stroman. The cover include a postmarked stamp commemorating A. Phillip Randolph, a Civil Rights and union Leader, who originated the idea to have the March.The Randolph stamp along with March on Washington stamp were tied with a circular postmark obtained at the ceremony.

Artcraft cover used to obtain signatures of participants from the ceremony. This cover was autographed by John Lewis and Alexander Williams.

Edited by Thomas Lera, John H. Barwis, and David L. HerendeenSmithsonian Contributions to History and Technology, No. 57

NOW AVAILABLE.

This volume showcases papers presented at the First International Symposium on Analytical Methods in Philately, hosted by the National Postal Museum in November 2012. Readers will find insights to research methods used across the entire spectrum of philatelic interests, from composition and physical characteristics of paper, to the chemistry and mineralogy of printing ink, to determining the genuineness of stamps, overprints, and the uses of adhesives on cover.

David Battle, whose design concept was used for the 1972 Peace Corps Stamp, visited the Postal Museum on April 12. Jim O’Donnell and I interviewed
Mr. Battle in 2010 for an article on the Peace Corps stamp and were
delighted when he contacted us that he was planning a visit to
Washington, DC. While at the museum, Mr. Battle spoke fondly of his
visit to Washington in December of 1971 when and his family were invited
to attend the ceremony announcing the Peace Corps stamp.

Peace Corps stamp issued February 11, 1972

David Battle also designed the cachet for the 1971 first day cover that he is holding.

The National Postal Museum has the original Peace Corps stamp art on loan from the U.S. Postal Service’s, Postmaster General Collection. Annette Shumway, museum technician PMG Collection, brought out the art for him to examine in person. He showed us how graphic artist Bradbury Thompson added an extra dove in the adaptation for the final design as the design of the Peace Corps stamp was vertical and his original design was square.

David Battle examining the 1972 Peace Corps stamp art with Annette Shumway overseeing on the right.

On January 1, 2013 at 9:00 A.M. the United States Postal Service (USPS) held the first- day ceremony for the Emancipation Proclamation commemorative forever stamp in the magnificent Rotunda Gallery of the National Archives. The selection of January 1, 2013 as the first- day of issue was historically consistent as the date marked the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln. Scheduling the first- day ceremony on New Year’s Day resulted in the stamp’s release on a Federal holiday, which is a rare event, but scheduling the first- day ceremony at the National Archives allowed this momentous event to become an integral part the 150th Anniversary celebration from Sunday, December 30-Tuesday, January 1.

A’Lelia Bundles, President of the Foundation for the National Archives, served as the Master Of Ceremonies. She recognized the importance of the ceremony to stamp collectors by asking how many people in the audience were stamp collectors, which resulted in a significant number of people raising their hands. She used this occasion to pay homage to her own ancestors who were enslaved at the time the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. She also read a stirring proclamation issued from “another president,” President Obama, which commemorated the sesquicentennial anniversary of the signing.

Ms. Bundles was followed by David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, who began his presentation by saying “Welcome to my house.” During his brief speech he cited the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation as a document that added a moral dimension to the Civil War.

Ronald Stroman, the Deputy Postmaster General representing the USPS, gave the keynote address and spoke about the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation in changing the “arc of history” forever in America and the enduring significance the document holds in American history. “It is a legacy we choose not only to remember, but also to make our own.” The unveiling ceremony occurred after his brief remarks.

After the unveiling Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, who is a singer, composer, and founder of the a cappella group, Sweet Honey in the Rock, opened her presentation with a very brief but beautiful hymn. She followed with a dramatic reading of the original Emancipation Proclamation. The presentation closed with a stirring performance by the Washington Revels Jubilee Voices. The group enthralled the audience with spirituals and gospel music sung by African Americans during the Civil War period. At the conclusion of the ceremony, which lasted about 45 minutes, attendees were given the rare opportunity to view the original Emancipation Proclamation displayed in the East Rotunda Gallery.

Button produced by the US National Archives and distributed to the general public during the 150th Anniversary events.

Program prepared for the first- day ceremony held on August 16, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois for the release of the stamp commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. This stamp shown on the program was designed by Greg Olden, who was the first African American to design a US postal stamp.

First- Day Program, signed by Gail Anderson, the stamp designer. Copies of the programs were found on the seats when attendees entered the Rotunda.

Post Ceremonial Activities

After the event the, USPS set- up shop in the National Archives’ Bookstore to sell philatelic products related to the stamp’s release and provide collectors with three different postmarks: a pictorial postmark, a bull’s eye postmark and a regular four bar first- day of issue postmark. As usual, collectors will have to mail in items and pay (fifty cents per item) to receive the digital postmark. Interestingly enough, a number of collectors actually had entire panes autographed by the stamp designer and postmarked at the Archives. Moreover, sales at the postal service counter were very brisk. The postal service reported that attendees purchased $6000 of philatelic items.

Gail Anderson was spotted purchasing philatelic items from the postal service and was sought out for her autograph, which she gladly provided upon request.

Set of three Artcraft covers (above) prepared for the issuance of the 1963 Emancipation Proclamation Stamp I used to obtain the pictorial postmark designed for the issuance of the 150th Anniversary Stamp. I had the stamp designer for the 150th Anniversary Stamp autograph the cover. Note the two varieties in the circular postmarks used on the 1963 centennial stamp.

First day cover sold at the ceremony by the USPS and autographed by the stamp designer.

Over 800 people of all ages attended this year’s Congressional Stamp Exhibit, held July 24-26 at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. The vast majority spent a significant amount of time playing with and learning about stamps. (This figure does not count the large number of people who stopped by the table in the hallway to look at and play with the stamps and the folks who came by in the evening while we were not there, which we estimate was at least an additional 200!) Eight members of Congress participated, and 15 members came by to see the exhibit. Dr. Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian, a member of the UK Parliament and a number of other dignitaries stopped by as well.

Between the displays of material from members of Congress, the National Postal Museum frames, the Stamp Collecting 101 exhibit, the U.S. Postal Service educational display, the Stamps Teach table, StampCampUSA participants and the free stamps, we seemed to have had something that appealed to everyone.

The response was uniformly and overwhelmingly positive and we were asked constantly if we could make this an annual event. We received positive press in the Washington Post, Roll Call and a number of blogs.

The response we received seems to me to validate our belief that the way to win new collectors and reignite the passion of folks who previously collected as children is to simply get stamps back in their hands. We hope this idea can be duplicated and perhaps implemented in other ways--perhaps by setting up “free stamp” tables in malls, libraries and other events or places.

It was a joy to watch peoples’ reactions to the exhibit. They would pop their heads inside, look around the exhibit and then, as they walked by one of the tables of free stamps, idly pick up a stamp or two for a closer look. They would stop strolling and start looking more closely at the stamps.
Once one of our volunteers would talk to them, they would either pull up a chair or would continue to play and stay for a significant amount of time--in many cases for hours! We had attendees who got so excited that they left behind their briefcases or meeting materials. We even had a few folks who missed hearings and work-related obligations entirely due to their excitement over the stamp exhibit.

This effort could not have happened without the help, kindness, and enthusiasm of many supporters and friends who share a love and passion for philately.

So many individuals and organizations came together to make this event effortless. I have to thank the National Postal Museum and their stellar staff, the kind donation of the Stamp Collecting 101 exhibit by an anonymous donor, the materials and time offered by the American Philatelic Society and their education department, the frames and bags from NAPEX, the stand of materials from the U.S. Postal Service, the extraordinary dedication and energy of StampCampUSA and their volunteers, the National Postal Museum Council of Philatelists volunteers, Members of the House and Senate, the
energy and hard work of Philip LoPicollo from the Smithsonian’s Government Relations Office, Frank Haught, who took a great deal of his personal time to make this a reality, and others.

I had a great deal of fun doing this and look forward to doing it again!